The government has been preparing a national work plan to address the ballooning trade deficit of the country.

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) has prepared a draft of the work plan incorporating necessary measures to control imports and boost the export of domestic products. “We have been finalising the draft of the work plan and will send it to the Cabinet soon for approval,” informed a source at MoICS.

As per statistics of the Trade and Export Promotion Centre, the country exported goods worth Rs 29.28 billion in the first quadrimester of fiscal year 2018-19 while imports stood at Rs 483.75 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of Rs 454.47 billion.

The new work plan of MoICS is expected to primarily impose quantitative restrictions on import of different goods, especially luxury goods like vehicles and introduce a few other measures to boost the country’s production base and address various export hurdles.

As the significant rise in imports has been exerting pressure on the country’s current account, it has worried the government lately. As per the statistics of Nepal Rastra Bank, imports in the first three months of the ongoing fiscal year have gone up by 43.6 per cent to Rs 373.59 billion as compared to a rise of 17.9 per cent in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

Owing to the rising import, the current account registered a deficit of Rs 81.96 billion in the review period against a deficit of Rs 25.52 billion recorded during the same period in the previous fiscal year. As a result, the overall balance of payments (BoP) remained at a deficit of Rs 35.42 billion in the review period in contrast to a surplus of Rs 4.27 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal.

]]>556887Govt yet again fails to improve budget spending capacityhttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/govt-yet-again-fails-to-improve-budget-spending-capacity/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:30:15 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556893The relatively stronger and stable government of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, unlike the previous governments, was expected to boost development works across the country and improve the government’s budget spending capacity.

The relatively stronger and stable government of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, unlike the previous governments, was expected to boost development works across the country and improve the government’s budget spending capacity. However, the Oli-led government has also failed to invest its funds in capital formation programmes owing to its lethargic budget spending capacity and capital expenditure is still very slow.

As per the statistics of the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO), the government has managed to spend merely 12.59 per cent of the total budget allocated under capital expenditure in the first five months of the current fiscal year. Of the Rs 313.998 billion allocated for capital expenditure for fiscal year 2018-19, capital spending stands at only Rs 39.51 billion as of today.

Meanwhile, the government has spent Rs 250.5 billion as recurrent expenditure during the review period. The recurrent expenditure is basically spending of the government on non-capital formation programmes like salaries of government staffers, social security and other expenses. The recurrent expenditure of the government in the first five months of fiscal 2018-19 stands at 29.63 per cent of the total allocated budget worth
Rs 845.4 billion under this heading.

Likewise, the government has been able to spend 13.98 per cent or Rs 21.7 billion on financing till mid-December out of the total allocated budget of Rs 155.7 billion for ongoing fiscal year.

Of the total Rs 1.31 trillion fiscal budget for 2018-19, the government’s total expenditure so far stands at Rs 311.8 billion or 23.71 per cent.

Private sector representatives have said that the country’s inefficient system, various expenditure controlling mechanisms and the failure of the government to introduce effective policies to expedite development works have led to low expenditure of the budget. “This is solely a systemic problem in Nepal’s economy,” said Hari Bhakta Sharma, president of Confederation of Nepalese Industries, adding that necessary policy intervention has to be initiated to boost budget spending capacity of the government.

According to him, low budget spending will have an adverse impact on Nepal’s economy as such trend will impede development works, employment generation and the growth of the entire economy.

Meanwhile, the government was able to collect revenue worth Rs 352 billion in the first five months of fiscal 2018-19, which is 37.25 per cent of the total revenue collection target of Rs 945 billion for this fiscal year.

]]>556893Labour minister vows to stop anomalies in country’s foreign employment sectorhttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/labour-minister-vows-to-stop-anomalies-in-countrys-foreign-employment-sector/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:15:46 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556911Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista has said that situations that put the life of thousands of youths in jeopardy would not be allowed to continue anymore.

Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista has said that situations that put the life of thousands of youths in jeopardy would not be allowed to continue anymore.

Addressing an interaction programme on ‘Foreign Employment: The Way Forward’ organised by the Foreign Employment Promotion Board Secretariat marking the International Migrants Day 2018 today, he said, “There are still anomalies, aberrations and shoddiness in the foreign employment sector. These kinds of anomalies will not be allowed to continue anymore.”

He vowed to end the situation where migrant workers have been feeling they are disregarded.

Stating that the dignified and decent living of migrant workers has now become an international agenda, Minister Bista stressed on the need of collaboration among all nations for the protection of the rights and interests of migrant workers.

He stated that the Colombo Process, which is a regional forum prioritising the rights of the migrant workers in the international, regional and national forums, and the Global Compact on Migration have also focused their roles with the aim of providing justice to workers.

National Planning Commission member Dr Ram Kumar Phuyal said that preparations are being made to bring a programme through the 25-year long-term draft policy of the 15th Five-Year Periodic Plan to make the foreign employment returned youths self-employed.

Labour Secretary Mahesh Prasad Dahal, said there was no alternative to systematising labour migration as it has become a global trend these days. He added that the government has been taking steps to frame laws and policy reforms to systematise the labour migration sector by addressing problems seen in it.

Preparations are underway to convert the memorandums of understanding reached with labour destinations into bilateral labour agreements.

Calling for a collective effort from all stakeholders to regulate the foreign employment sector, Acting President of Nepal Foreign Employment Entrepreneurs’ Association Ram Prasad Bhantana, said they were ready to collaborate with the government to make foreign employment safe and well-managed.

]]>556911Chivas XV: A Scotch whisky worth celebratinghttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/chivas-xv-a-scotch-whisky-worth-celebrating/
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:06:03 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556886Chivas, which believes that blended is better, in life and in Scotch, has launched Chivas XV, a 15-year-old blend the company says is made for celebrations. Chivas XV is the latest addition to the Chivas portfolio and is set to bring Scotch to moments of celebration around the world.

Chivas, which believes that blended is better, in life and in Scotch, has launched Chivas XV, a 15-year-old blend the company says is made for celebrations. Chivas XV is the latest addition to the Chivas portfolio and is set to bring Scotch to moments of celebration around the world.

Continuing Chivas’ tradition for expert blending,Chivas XV brings together the best 15-year-old malt and grain whiskies before they’re selectively finished in the most prized Grande Champagne Cognac casks. Grande Champagne famously produces the finest Cognacs in the world, renowned for their outstanding quality.

As per Sandy Hyslop, director of Blending at Chivas, “Chivas XV is a whisky that successfully combines the Chivas tradition and passion for blending with a modern thirst for shared experiences. Whether you’re an aficionado or a beginner, forget what you know about whisky — Chivas XV is challenging conventions as the ultimate drink to enjoy on an evening out. Now that’s worthy of celebrating.”

Sure to stand out in any crowd, Chivas XV is presented in the same iconic bottle shape that makes Chivas whiskies recognisable around the world: A clear bottle encased in a goldcarton, making it the go-to gift for whisky lovers.

Chivas XV is on sale exclusively in major airports worldwide and available in Nepal from December 1 at a price of Rs 10,200 for 100cl.

]]>KATHMANDU: The National Human Rights Commission inspected the Tribhuvan International Airport on Tuesday.

The team led by Sudip Pathak, member of NHRC, inspected the labour departure lounge, immigration lounge and the office of the Department of Immigration (DoI).

The team also held discussions on various issues related to migrant workers with officials of DoI and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. As per a press release issued by NHRC, it found that the government was unable to implement the free visa and free ticket provision.

It also found that most migrant workers were unskilled, unaware and uneducated about the language and laws of destination countries. The team has suggested the airport officials to treat migrants in a proper manner.

NHRC has also suggested government to ensure rights of migrants and launch awareness programmes as per their contribution to the national GDP.

]]>556835Nepse suffers double-digit fallhttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/nepse-suffers-double-digit-fall-3/
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 11:38:53 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556806Two sub-indices remained exceptional to eight other sub-indices as they recorded a rise in their share price today, closing with a green symbol.

According to NEPSE, the sensitive index measuring the trade and values of ‘A’ class companies fell by 3.04 points and sits at 248.59 points. A total of 1,478,724 units of shares of 159 companies were traded today and the total turnover was Rs 532,325,646.

Two sub-indices remained exceptional to eight other sub-indices as they recorded a rise in their share price today, closing with a green symbol. They belong to manufacturing and production (9.31 points) and other groups (5.38 points).

]]>556806A road that changed liveshttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/a-road-that-changed-lives/
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 04:55:07 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556666With a small potbelly, an oval face and height of around five feet six inches, Ramesh Magar resembles an ordinary Nepali citizen whom you might know or may have come across.

Vehicles halting in a segment of the new 73.24-kilometre road that can be used as an alternative to cross the Koshi River in Udayapur district, on Monday, December 10, 2018. Photo: Rupak D Sharma/THT

Udayapur, December 17

With a small potbelly, an oval face and height of around five feet six inches, Ramesh Magar resembles an ordinary Nepali citizen whom you might know or may have come across.

Like many Nepalis, the 37-year-old resident of Chaudandi Municipality in the eastern Nepali district of Udayapur grew up as a son of a farmer engaged in subsistence farming. He harboured dreams of landing a decent job here but eventually ended up in the Gulf and later in Malaysia as going got tough in the country. He is now back in the country and is cautiously optimistic about his future, as he is making a decent income to support his family and save for the future.

Magar, a Grade 10 graduate, joined Riot Police at the age of 18 and later took up a job at Armed Police Force. “But the salary of a few thousand rupees was not enough to make a living,” says a cheerful Magar who is married and has an eight-year-old daughter.

The life riddled with scarcity prompted him to take up the job of a security guard in Iraq. The income was good but life in the war-torn country was ‘quite miserable’. So after around three years, he came back to Nepal.

“By that time I had saved enough to build a small house on the land provided by my parents,” says Magar, who was planning to open a grocery in the new house to make a living.

Everything went as per his plan: He built the house and opened a grocery.

“But after two years I was again thinking of going abroad, as the grocery was not generating any business and I had to shut it down,” says Magar. So, he headed for Malaysia, where he worked as a security guard. The earning in Malaysia was not good and after three years’ of stay he returned to Nepal. He had two choices at that time: Migrate to another country or do something here.

As he was weighing his options, he saw an opportunity here — an opportunity brought by a new road.

Around that time, the government was building a blacktopped road, which starts at Pakali of East-West Highway in Sunsari district, passes through Nadaha of Sunsari district, Koshi River, Rampur of Udayapur district and Fattehpur of Saptari district, and ends at Kanchanpur of East-West Highway in Saptari district. This new 73.24-km road is strategic because it could be used as an alternative to cross the Koshi River.

When the barrage at the Koshi River was damaged by a massive monsoon flood in 2008, eastern Nepal — which is economically advanced because of vast fertile land and quite a number of manufacturing units — was cut off from rest of the country as there was no alternate bridge. The flood not only deluged hundreds of villages but forced people to use boats to cross the Koshi River, affecting passenger movement. The flood also reduced the volume of trade not only in eastern Nepal but across the border with India. That was when the need for an alternative road and a bridge was felt to keep vehicular movement intact along the East-West highway during natural disasters.

The construction of the 2.4-billion-rupee road, built with the support of the Asian Development Bank, began in September 2014. So far, 96 per cent of the work has been completed. A total of 18 new bridges, including the once across Koshi River in Chatara, have been built on the road segment and eight bridges have been rehabilitated.

Tilak Bahadur Rai of Belaka Municipality in Udayapur district is elated with the construction of the road and bridges. “Before the two-lane blacktopped road, and bridges were built people had to use boats to cross the river,” says 59-year-old Rai, who saw his 20-year-old son die while trying to rescue people from a drowning boat around five-and-a-half years ago. “Now, no one will have to die like my son.”

Road networks are vital in Nepal because they are used to transport 90 per cent of freight and passengers. When proper roads are built farmers gain access to bigger markets, factories and business establishments are set up creating job opportunities, passengers can travel to their destinations faster, and students and sick people gain better access to schools and hospitals. In short, roads help in economic and social development.

The new road that links Sunsari, Udayapur and Saptari districts is already stimulating economic activities in the vicinity and has reduced travel time for passengers, students and sick people.

Earlier, people living in Belaka Municipality of Udayapur district, for example, had to travel for over an hour to Fattehpur or Kanchanpur in Saptari district or Gaighat to take a bus to Kathmandu, according to Shyam Kumar Rai. “Now, we can catch those buses near our houses,” says Shyam.

Access to better road network has helped places like Rampur Bazar and Lal Bazar to expand rapidly and become vibrant. Restaurants, lodges and beauty parlours could be seen on the roadsides, indicating rise in economic activities. Many are now expecting greater flow of tourists to Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and religious places like Barahachhetra, Dantakali-Pindeshwor and Haleshi Mahadev, which lie in the vicinity of the new road.

As local economies are becoming vibrant, more people are travelling, raising demand for public transport. Already, 38 public buses and minibuses are plying on the road. Gradually, the number of three-wheelers, which are referred to as tempos and are cheap means of public transport for short-distance travel, is also going up.

Magar is one of around 48 tempo drivers who ferries passengers along the new road. He charges a minimum of Rs 20 from passengers and easily earns an average of around Rs 1,000 per day. Around nine months ago, his wife took a short beautician course and operates her own beauty parlour to supplement family income.

“These are opportunities generated by the new road,” says Magar, who has now ditched the idea of going abroad. “So far I am happy with whatever I’m earning and with my life, except that the road tax of Rs 20 imposed by every municipality per day has become a nuisance,” adds Magar.

]]>556666Share investors start hunger strike at Nepsehttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/share-investors-start-hunger-strike-at-nepse/
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 04:50:06 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556665Citing that the secondary market has not been serious in addressing their demands, a team of two share investors has started a hunger strike on the premises of Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) against top governmental officials from today.

Citing that the secondary market has not been serious in addressing their demands, a team of two share investors has started a hunger strike on the premises of Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) against top governmental officials from today.

The team of Tilak Koirala and Hari Dhakal, representatives of the pressure group, has started a hunger strike stating that the above mentioned authorities are solely responsible for the current situation in the stock market.

The share investors’ pressure group has also unveiled a series of protest programmes putting forth various demands. Their
demands include reforms in the capital market, protection of investment and creating an environment conducive for investment.

“We have started a hunger strike for the betterment of the stock market and we strongly demand the resignation of the aforementioned officials,” said the pressure group’s coordinator Hari Dhakal, adding that if the concerned officials do not resign they will not end the hunger strike.

They have already been staging a relay-strike since the past eight days. “We have been compelled to launch protest programmes as the government has failed to address our demands,” said Dhakal.

Earlier, the Ministry of Finance had formed a committee under the chairmanship of Shivaraj Shrestha, deputy governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, and comprising share investors, on Tuesday to identify the problems in the secondary market and provide necessary suggestions. “The committee was supposed to submit its report today but officials at the Finance Ministry refused to accept the report citing that more discussions need to be held regarding the issue,” said Uttam Aryal, chairman, Nepal Investors’ Association.

Meanwhile, the protesters have accused the committee of ignoring their demands. They have also drawn attention of the government to introduce necessary act, regulations and laws for greater interest of capital market.

In a recent development, the government and one of the pressure groups formed by the share investors had held a meeting at the Ministry of Finance on Friday where the government decided to address the demands raised by investors to increase margin landing. The government has also agreed to implement margin trading through brokers.

However, dissatisfied share investors have stated that they will not end their protest programmes unless the government meets their demands too.

]]>556665CAAN’s priorities make mockery of air safetyhttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/caans-priorities-make-mockery-of-air-safety/
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 04:45:04 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556663A comparative review of the safety audit results published by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has once again revealed that the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has often made peculiar choice of priorities in the name of improving air safety standards in the country.

A comparative review of the safety audit results published by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has once again revealed that the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has often made peculiar choice of priorities in the name of improving air safety standards in the country.

The ICAO’s safety audit results for member countries, available on its website, provides a glimpse into the stark irony whereby Nepal keeps seeking foreign assistance repeatedly in safety oversight areas — airworthiness and aircraft operations — where its demonstrated compliance exceeds that of Germany and the UK, let alone South Asia, despite having hosted ICAO experts for the same for over two years earlier.

“Nepal’s superior performance in the aforementioned areas should have resulted in CAAN’s focus shifting to other weaker areas such as accident investigation and organisation, but it is not to be,” a senior official at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, said.

Earlier, in September 2017, CAAN had signed a memorandum of understanding with the French regulator — Direction générale de l’aviation civile — for a two-year mutual assistance programme in the areas of airworthiness and aircraft operations under which French experts are stationed in Nepal to train CAAN safety inspectors. “Surely, the CAAN inspectors can’t be deemed incompetent as they ably contributed to Nepal passing the ICAO safety audit with flying colours,” the official added.

Unless, it is Nepal’s intention to touch the stratosphere like France in effective implementation of ICAO safety provisions, this continued fixation is a cause of much heartburn in CAAN’s ranks, especially in light of the continuation of the European Commission’s ban on Nepali carriers, a private airlines executive commented. After all, it is the areas of airworthiness and aircraft operations in a civil aviation authority that make airlines under its safety oversight safe, he said, adding that amidst the mess in which Nepal’s aviation finds itself wallowing today, CAAN’s peculiar choice of priorities always provides an interesting insight into the impaired capabilities of its strategic planners.

Interestingly though, it is the domain of aerodrome engineering that remains the area of preferred choice for the politicians as well, as it is where big money lies, a senior CAAN official revealed.

While the general public is provided with selective feeds on the proclaimed physical progress about the works at Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) in Bhairahawa and Pokhara International Airport, it is the CAAN’s silence on issuing official aviation notification for the date of inaugural international flights to GBIA that leaves aviation stakeholders unsettled.

As is the international practice, the date of inaugural flight, often announced over a year in advance, has a lot of significance, so as to allow airlines to plan for as well as probable travellers to buy tickets in advance to suit their vacation plans, another airline executive said. “Surely, a lot of travellers from Buddhist countries might be interested to fly to the land of Buddha on the inaugural flight from Thailand, Korea and Japan, among others,” he added.

The GBIA will purportedly be equipped with an instrument landing system and an accompanying airfield lighting system to allow for low visibility operations while the Asian Development Bank-funded GBIA project also intends to instal aviation meteorological equipment at the airport for which the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DoHM) has already contracted a European supplier, a CAAN official shared.

“The ADB sponsored runway visual range equipment at Tribhuvan International Airport worth millions, procured in 2012, still lies unused as the DoHM hasn’t assumed its ownership and operationalised its use in the aeronautical information publication on doubts of its accuracy,” a TIA officer recounted, indicating that the same story is likely to be repeated at GBIA.

]]>556663Share market on rise as govt positive to investor demandhttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/share-market-on-rise-as-govt-positive-to-investor-demand/
Mon, 17 Dec 2018 04:50:06 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556561The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) has been witnessing substantial gains in the past few days as the government has hinted towards meeting the demands put forward by share investors for the development and expansion of the country’s sole secondary bourse.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) has been witnessing substantial gains in the past few days as the government has hinted towards meeting the demands put forward by share investors for the development and expansion of the country’s sole secondary bourse.

Share investors have been staging protests at Nepse since December 9 to put pressure on the government to fulfil their demands.

“The government has assured us that it will do the needful to meet our demands to develop the secondary market,” said
Ambika Prasad Poudel, chairman of Nepal Investors’ Forum.

Earlier, the government and pressure groups formed by the share investors had held a meeting at the Ministry of
Finance on Friday where the government decided to address the demands raised by investors to increase margin landing. The government has also agreed to implement margin trading through brokers.

“After various stages of discussions with the government, it has agreed to raise margin lending as sought by investors,” informed Poudel.

Moreover, the government has also agreed to provide sharebroker licence to domestic commercial banks and also to new brokers across the country.

According to Poudel, it has also been agreed upon whereby the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) — share and commodities market regular — will introduce necessary provisions so as to allow non-resident Nepalis and other Nepali citizens living abroad to participate in the domestic securities market.

The Ministry of Finance had formed a committee under the chairmanship of Shivaraj Shrestha, deputy governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, and comprising share investors on Tuesday to identify the problems in the secondary market and provide necessary suggestions. The committee submitted its report to the government today.

Due to the continuous decline in the share market, share investors had also sought the resignation of Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada and had submitted a 10-point demand to the government on December 9.

Various investor organisations like Nepal Investors’ Forum and Investors Association of Nepal, among others have voiced their support for the demands.

According to Poudel, the government has also been receptive to the idea of establishing market makers and dealership, which has been in the pipeline since the past three years. With regards to this the Citizen Investment Trust today said that it will establish a stock dealership worth Rs 10 billion to facilitate margin lending.

Meanwhile, as the government has been showing signs of meeting the demands raised by the investors, the Nepse index today increased by 1.64 per cent or 18.89 points to land at 1,167.67 points.

However, share investors have stated that they will not end their protest programmes unless the government meets their genuine demands in writing.

]]>556561Govt shows flexibility towards transportershttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/govt-shows-flexibility-towards-transporters/
Mon, 17 Dec 2018 04:45:58 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556521Though the government a few months ago had decided to end syndicate practices in the public transportation sector, it has been failing to implement the decision under pressure from transport entrepreneurs.

Extends the deadline for transport associations to switch to company model till mid-March

Kathmandu, December 16

Though the government a few months ago had decided to end syndicate practices in the public transportation sector, it has been failing to implement the decision under pressure from transport entrepreneurs.

By scrapping the registration of transport bodies (transport committees and associations) in April, the government had announced that it would not renew their registration froTram mid-July if they failed to transform their businesses into the company modal. However, the government’s recent decision to extend the deadline for transport bodies to comply with this direction for the second time has reflected on the government’s unwillingness to illegalise syndicate practices in transportation sector of the country.

Publishing a notice a week ago, the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) had informed that public vehicles that have not been registered with the department under the company model will not be allowed to ply the roads from December 16. However, going against the anticipation that the age-long syndicate practice in the country’s transportation sector would finally come to an end, the department has once again extended the deadline for transport entrepreneurs to switch to the company model till mid-March next year.

The government on Saturday decided to extend the deadline citing the necessity to amend a few provisions in the existing Company Act to bring the large transport associations/committees under the company format.

Lawanya Dhakal, director general at DoTM, informed that the deadline has been extended for the final time and the extension is basically intended to address a few concerns raised by the transport entrepreneurs. Last week, transport entrepreneurs had ‘officially’ agreed to switch to the company model but had set a few preconditions that include transferring transport bodies’ movable and immovable properties, including their vehicles and staffs to the new company, among others.

“A few amendments in the Company Act are necessary to address these concerns of the transport entrepreneurs,” said Dhakal.

However, this flexibility that the government has been showing time and again in bringing transport bodies under the company model and the unwillingness of the transport bodies to register their business into a company hints towards the possible rise of the syndicate system in the transportation sector in the future.

As per the statistics of DoTM, only around 10,000 public vehicles (of the 1,500 transport bodies) out of more than 200,000 public vehicles across the country have registered with the DoTM under the company model so far.

]]>556521Domestic price of precious metals increasehttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/domestic-price-of-precious-metals-increase/
Sun, 16 Dec 2018 04:50:44 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556429As per the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (FeNeGoSiDA) the domestic price of gold and silver increased significantly in the trading week between December 9 and 14 due to the Indian currency weakening against the US dollar in the international market.

As per the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (FeNeGoSiDA) the domestic price of gold and silver increased significantly in the trading week between December 9 and 14 due to the Indian currency weakening against the US dollar in the international market.

According to FeNeGoSiDA, gold was traded at Rs 59,000 per tola on Sunday. On Monday, the price of gold went up by Rs 400 a tola to Rs 59,400 per tola. Similarly, the price of the precious yellow metal increased by Rs 600 a tola the next day to reach Rs 60,000 per tola. However, on Wednesday, it dropped by Rs 200 a tola to Rs 59,800 per tola. The price of the bullion continued with its downward trend on Thursday falling by Rs 300 per tola to Rs 59,500 a tola. It remained the same the next trading day to close the week at Rs 59,500 per tola.

Meanwhile, silver was traded at Rs 720 a tola on Sunday and increased by five rupees per tola the next trading day to Rs 725 a tola. It again rose by five rupees per tola to Rs 730 a tola on Tuesday and remained the same the next day. Moreover, the price of the grey metal again went up by five rupees per tola to Rs 735 a tola on Thursday. However, on Friday the price of silver witnessed no change to close the week at Rs 735 a tola.

The week-on-week review shows that gold price went up by Rs 1,000 a tola in the domestic market whereas that of silver increased by Rs 20 a tola.

Gold fell to its lowest in more than a week in the international market on Friday and was on track to mark its biggest weekly decline in more than a month, as the dollar climbed on robust US economic data ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting next week, Reuters reported.

Spot gold eased 0.2 per cent to $1,239.59 per ounce. Earlier in the session, prices hit their lowest since December 4 at $1,232.39. The metal is down about 0.6 per cent so far this week.

US gold futures were down 0.3 per cent at $1,242.90 per ounce.

“The strength of the dollar has weighed across the complex. The key driver (of prices) in the next few sessions is going to be the markets’ expectations for the Fed,” said Suki Cooper, precious metals analyst at Standard Chartered Bank, according to Reuters.

Markets are awaiting the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on December 18-19, where the US central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates. The focus, however, would be on the outlook for 2019.

According to Reuters, gold price rose to a five-month peak of $1,250.55 an ounce on Monday, but has given up all the gains as the dollar strengthened against a basket of major currencies.

]]>556429China awaits design approval of second phase of Ring Road expansion projecthttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/china-awaits-design-approval-of-second-phase-of-ring-road-expansion-project/
Sun, 16 Dec 2018 04:45:02 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556416The Chinese government has said that it is waiting for approval of the detailed project design of the second phase of Ring Road expansion project. The Chinese team has asked the Department of Roads (DoR) to approve the design at the earliest.

The Chinese government has said that it is waiting for approval of the detailed project design of the second phase of Ring Road expansion project. The Chinese team has asked the Department of Roads (DoR) to approve the design at the earliest.

“The Chinese team has frequently asked the DoR to finalise the detailed project design as soon as possible,” said Ramesh Kumar Singh, joint spokesperson for DoR. According to him, the Chinese team had sought approval from the DoR to start works of the second phase of Ring Road expansion project in October, which includes upgradation of the 8.2-kilometre long stretch linking Kalanki with Maharajgunj.

According to the plan, the 8.2-km stretch will be widened to 50 metres and will comprise an eight-lane road along with additional six-metre wide lanes on both sides of the road for easy pedestrian movement.

The project is being funded through Chinese assistance.

“The approval has been delayed as we need to hold more consultations before we implement the second phase because we have received a lot of criticism regarding pedestrian safety, various fly-overs and the underpass in the first phase which included the Koteshwor-Kalanki section,” informed Singh.

Meanwhile, the Department of Roads has already started discussions with concerned stakeholders over the second detailed project design. “The Chinese team at present is waiting for the approval of the second detailed project design report that includes issues related to pedestrian safety and wheel-chair friendly road concept,” Singh added. “The government will soon approve the design to accelerate the project as per plan.”

Once the department approves the detailed design of the road, the Chinese side will start the construction by appointing a contractor. Earlier, the Chinese team had asked the government to remove electricity poles and pipes supplying drinking water and cut down trees that fall under the stretch.

Moreover, the Chinese government has said it will be constructing an underpass each at Maharajgunj Chowk and Koteshwor like the one that has been constructed in Kalanki. This is expected to ease the traffic woes in these two respective junctions.

Meanwhile, the Nepal Electricity Authority and Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Ltd have started to remove their respective structures lying on the right of way of the road.

The Chinese government meanwhile has already completed the upgradation works of the Koteshwor-Kalanki section under the first phase of the project, which will soon be formally inaugurated.

BEIJING: While a Huawei executive faces possible US charges over trade with Iran, the Chinese tech giant’s ambition to be a leader in next-generation telecoms is colliding with security worries abroad.

Australia and New Zealand have barred Huawei Technologies Ltd. as a supplier for fifth-generation networks. They joined the United States and Taiwan, which limit use of technology from the biggest global supplier of network switching gear. This week, Japan’s cybersecurity agency said Huawei and other vendors deemed risky will be off-limits for government purchases.

None has released evidence of wrongdoing by Huawei, which denies it is a risk and has operated a laboratory with Britain’s government since 2010 to conduct security examinations of its products. But the accusations, amid rising tension over Chinese technology ambitions and spying, threaten its ability to compete in a sensitive field as carriers prepare to invest billions of dollars.

“This is something that’s definitely concerning Huawei at this stage, because there is a political angle to it and a business angle,” said Nikhil Bhatra, a senior researcher for IDC.

Huawei is no ordinary electronics supplier. The company founded in 1987 by a former military engineer is China’s first global tech brand and a national champion at the head of an industry Beijing is promoting as part of efforts to transform this country into a technology creator. It has China’s biggest corporate research-and-development budget at 89.7 billion yuan ($13 billion) in 2017 — 10 percent more than Apple Inc.’s — and foreign customers can draw on a multibillion-dollar line of credit from the official China Development Bank.

That puts Huawei at the heart of strains over the ruling Communist Party’s technology aspirations, competition with Western economies and ties between companies and government, including possibly spying.

“Do we have to be worried about Huawei and other Chinese companies? Yes, I think we have to be worried,” said Ansip, the trade bloc’s vice president for a digital single market.

The company says it is employee-owned and operates independently. It denies it designs equipment to allow eavesdropping or that it is controlled by the Communist Party — a stance critics including some US senators say is doubtful in China’s state-dominated system. The company notes it uses the same global components suppliers as Western manufacturers.

“Not a single shred of evidence against the company has ever been presented,” Huawei said in a written response to questions.

The company is the “most examined telecoms equipment vendor,” the statement said. It said foreign officials visit regularly to see “the lengths we go to assure them of the integrity of our technology.”

Huawei, headquartered on a leafy campus in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, has been working on 5G since 2009 and is one of the major suppliers of the technology, along with Sweden’s LM Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia Corp.

The company whose technology winds up being adopted stands to reap billions of dollars from sales and license fees.

5G promises more than just faster mobile phone service. It is designed to support vastly expanded networks of devices from internet-linked cars and medical equipment to factory robots and nuclear power plants. Annual sales of 5G network gear are forecast to reach $11 billion by 2022, according to IHS Markit.

That makes it more politically sensitive, raises the potential cost of security failures and requires more trust in suppliers.

Even a “really minuscule” risk could disqualify a provider, said Andrew Kitson, head of technology industry research for Fitch Solutions.

But Kitson sees commercial motives behind the accusations against Huawei. He said many come from US and European suppliers that are losing market share to Chinese rivals.

“There never has been any actual proof,” said Kitson. “They’ve only got to make a few insinuations for other governments to sit up and think, hang on, even if there is no proof, it is too much of a risk.”

Huawei took a new hit on Dec. 1 when its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Vancouver on US charges of lying to banks about transactions with Iran.

Huawei is more politically important than ZTE Corp., a Chinese rival that was nearly driven out of business after Washington blocked it from buying US technology over exports to Iran and North Korea. President Donald Trump restored access after ZTE paid a $1 billion fine, replaced its executives and hired US-picked compliance officers.

That won’t work with Huawei, which is the “key to Beijing’s aspirations to lead globally” on 5G, Eurasia Group said in a report. It said Chinese leaders would see an attempt to impose ZTE-style controls as “tantamount to an open technology war.”

Huawei’s US business evaporated after a 2012 congressional report labeled the company and ZTE security threats. The same year, Australia banned it from bidding on a national high-speed broadband network.

Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its territory and regularly threatens to attack, imposed curbs in 2013 on Huawei and other Chinese telecoms technology. Lawmakers are discussing expanding the controls.

Huawei accounted for 28 percent of last year’s $32 billion global sales of mobile network gear, according to IHS Markit. Ericsson was second with 27 percent and Nokia had 23 percent. ZTE, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Corp. and other vendors made up the rest.

Asked about the impact of security concerns on its 5G business, Huawei said this year’s total revenue — which also includes the No. 3 global smartphone brand and an enterprise unit — should exceed $100 billion. That would be an 8 percent gain over 2017.

Washington is pressing allies to shun Huawei, but Germany, France and Ireland say they have no plans to ban any 5G network suppliers.

Huawei “has an important place in France” and “its investments are welcome,” the country’s economy minister, Bruno Le Maire, said Dec. 7, according to news reports.

The company has agreements to field test 5G equipment with Deutsche Telekom, Bell Canada, France’s Bouygues, Telecom Italia, India’s Bharti Airtel and carriers in Singapore, South Korea and Ireland.

]]>556387DoT collects Rs 460 million in revenue in four monthshttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/dot-collects-rs-460-million-in-revenue-in-four-months/
Sat, 15 Dec 2018 10:50:53 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556316The Department of Tourism has collected revenue amounting to Rs 460 million in four months of the current fiscal year.

KATHMANDU: The Department of Tourism has collected revenue amounting to Rs 460 million in four months of the current fiscal year.

The Department had set a target of collecting Rs 1.13 billion in the current fiscal. At present, it has been successful in only collecting a little less than half the target within the first quarter of the fiscal year alone.

Department Director General Dundu Raj Ghimire said that this year the Department hopes to gain significant amount of revenue, compared to the past years.

Of the collected revenue, maximum amount has been raised from the casinos. Last year, revenue of more than 500 million was collected from casinos. Similarly, hotels and travel agencies registered with the Department are other major sources of revenue.

The Department had collected Rs 1.13 billion in revenue in the fiscal year 2017/2018 and Rs 660 million in fiscal year 2016/2017.

]]>556316Nepal has potential to raise exports four-fold to South Asian countrieshttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/nepal-has-potential-to-raise-exports-four-fold-to-south-asian-countries/
Sat, 15 Dec 2018 04:30:19 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556238If the various existing trade barriers could be reduced through introduction of effective policies, Nepal has the potential to raise its exports to South Asian countries four-fold, states a World Bank report titled ‘A Glass Half Full’ that was launched here on Friday.

If the various existing trade barriers could be reduced through introduction of effective policies, Nepal has the potential to raise its exports to South Asian countries four-fold, states a World Bank report titled ‘A Glass Half Full’ that was launched here today.

Citing that such barriers in trade have held back intraregional trade in South Asia, the report mentions that intraregional trade has the potential to grow from its current value of $23 billion to $67 billion if these barriers are reduced, as per the report.

Intraregional trade in South Asia remains one of the lowest in the world and accounts for about five per cent of the region’s total trade, compared with 50 per cent in East Asia and the Pacific. Nepal mostly exports to South Asia and has a trade deficit of $10.8 billion, which is equivalent to 37 per cent of its gross domestic product.

The World Bank report has also assessed the gap between current and potential trade in South Asia and has given a roadmap for deepening regional trade. It has identified four critical barriers to regional trade, namely tariffs and para tariffs, real and perceived non-tariff barriers, connectivity costs and a broader trust deficit.

“Situated in the world’s fastest growing region, Nepal’s potential to expand trade in goods and services is promising,” said Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank country manager for Nepal, adding that addressing Nepal’s own protectionist policies will significantly help the country increase its exports not only to South Asia, but also to the rest of the world.

Furthermore, the report has stated that South Asian countries impose greater trade barriers for imports from within the region than from the rest of the world and more than one-third of intraregional trade falls under sensitive lists, which are goods that are not offered concessional tariffs under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA). “More than 36 per cent of Nepal’s imports from South Asia are under sensitive lists, more than any other country in the region,” according to the report.

Meanwhile, the report recommends targeting sensitive lists and para tariffs to enable real progress on SAFTA and calls for a multi-pronged effort to address non-tariff barriers, focusing on information flows, procedures and infrastructure.

Similarly, the report has also identified connectivity as a key enabler for robust regional cooperation in South Asia. Poor land and air connectivity prevent South Asian nations from reaping the benefits of shared borders, the report adds.

“There are no flights between Nepal and Sri Lanka, the Maldives, or Afghanistan. And only one flight per week between Nepal and Pakistan,” said Sanjay Kathuria, World Bank lead economist and lead author of the report, adding that the lack of connectivity is a key contributor to the high cost of trade between Nepal and South Asia and improving connectivity will take Nepal a long way forward.

Due to the low wages being paid and continuous exploitation of Nepali migrant workers, government has decided to blacklist 65 Gulf and Malaysian companies that have been involved in recruiting workers from Nepal.

The recruiting agencies that have been blacklisted will not be allowed to hire workers from Nepal from now onward. The decision to blacklist the 65 companies was taken by the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) on December 9.

The blacklisted companies are based in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Malaysia. Among them, 52 are Malaysian firms, five each are from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and three are from Qatar.

“The government inspected the facilities, remuneration and other benefits being provided by the concerned companies and found them to be lacking,” informed Dilip Kumar Chapagain, director general of DoFE. “There were also instances when workers hired by these firms were stranded in the destinations, so we decided to blacklist these 65 hiring agencies.”

]]>556246Transporters to register under company modelhttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/transporters-to-register-under-company-model/
Sat, 15 Dec 2018 04:15:26 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556247Transport entrepreneurs have finally ‘formally’ decided to register their business under the company model.

Transport entrepreneurs have finally ‘formally’ decided to register their business under the company model.

The meeting of the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) today decided to abide with the government’s direction to transform their businesses to the company modality. However, entrepreneurs have set a few preconditions for going with the government’s direction that includes transferring transport bodies’ movable and immovable properties, including their vehicles and staffs to the new company. Similarly, they have also asked the government to review the provision that restricts a transport firm from having more than 99 shareholders.

“All transport bodies (transport committees and associations) will register themselves under the ‘private limited’ format. However, the government should facilitate transport entrepreneurs in the aforementioned concerns,” informed Saroj Sitaula, general secretary of FNNTE.

The decision of the transport entrepreneurs to register their businesses and vehicles under the company modality is backed by the government’s decision to disallow public vehicles that have not been registered with the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) under the company model to ply the roads from December 16. The DoTM had recently issued a notice informing transport bodies that their vehicles would be banned from being operated from the given date if they failed to change into the company model.

As per the department, there are more than 200,000 public vehicles, including passenger and goods-carrying vehicles across the country. However, only 6,000 such vehicles (of the 1,500 transport bodies) have registered with the DoTM under the company model so far.

As a major step to end syndicate practices in the transportation sector, the government had earlier scrapped all transport bodies and directed them to operate under the company modality by registering themselves at the Office of the Company Registrar within mid-December. The move was intended not only to end the monopoly of transporters in the public transportation sector and ensure the sector’s healthy growth, but also to bring Nepal’s public transport sector, which makes transactions worth billions of rupees annually, under the income tax net of the government.

]]>556247Nepal to benefit from SAARC Development Fundhttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/nepal-to-benefit-from-saarc-development-fund/
Sat, 15 Dec 2018 04:10:28 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556248The SAARC Development Fund (SDF) was established by the heads of the eight SAARC member states in April 2010 as an umbrella financial institution for SAARC projects and programmes in the SAARC region.

The SAARC Development Fund (SDF) was established by the heads of the eight SAARC member states in April 2010 as an umbrella financial institution for SAARC projects and programmes in the SAARC region. It works for promoting the welfare of the people of SAARC region, improving their quality of life, and accelerating economic growth, social progress and poverty alleviation in South Asia.

As per Motiwal, these projects have cross-border connectivity to neighbouring SAARC member states involving participation of Bangladesh and India. The cumulative loan commitment under the three projects would be $45 million. These are being extended under both sovereign and non-sovereign lending in Nepal. Motiwal expressed confidence that these projects would help SDF to achieve its development goals in Nepal and promote welfare and prosperity of the people in the SAARC region.

CEO Motiwal also informed that apart from these three in-principle approved projects, SDF is considering two additional infrastructure projects under active consideration to co-finance in Nepal with fund commitment of $30 million.

Further SDF is launching its Social Enterprise Development Programme (SEDP) as part of its Social Window. The programme will be implemented in all the SAARC member states with the objective of identifying and building social enterprises by using a mix of grants and concessional returnable capital. It is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2019 in Nepal. SDF has also proposed to launch its MSME programme in order to upgrade Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the SAARC region by providing line of credit. SDF will create access to
financial services which can in turn boost job creation, raise income, reduce vulnerability and increase investments in human capital in SAARC member nations.

Motiwal emphasised upon the fact that Nepal has long been in a situation of low investment and low growth. Despite this the government of Nepal has set ambitious development targets — to graduate from least developed country status by 2022, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and to emerge as an inclusive, equitable, and prosperous middle-income country by 2030 — and SDF would like to partner with the government in achieving these objectives, he added.

]]>556248JGI brings Ruslan Ultra Premium Vodkahttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/jawalakhel-group-of-industries-brings-ruslan-ultra-premium-vodka/
Sat, 15 Dec 2018 04:05:22 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556239‘Feel Everything, See Nothing’, states the communication of Jawalakhel Group of Industries (JGI) with its latest release of Ruslan Ultra Premium Vodka, also positioned in the market as the world’s clearest vodka.

]]>KATHMANDU: ‘Feel Everything, See Nothing’, states the communication of Jawalakhel Group of Industries (JGI) with its latest release of Ruslan Ultra Premium Vodka, also positioned in the market as the world’s clearest vodka.

Ruslan Ultra Premium Vodka conforms to the highest standards of purity, the finest Russian filtration technology and multiple distillations to give it its brilliant clarity, as per a statement issued by the company.

JGI master distillers and blenders use the finest handpicked grains and the purest Himalayan water to create a smooth texture and clean flavour that works wonderfully on its own or can be enjoyed as a mixed drink.

The Ruslan Ultra Premium Vodka will debut this month in the capital and tier-A cities and by the first quarter of 2019, it will be available across Nepal at select outlets. It is available in 750 ml, 375 ml and 180 ml bottles and priced at Rs 1,800, Rs 900 and Rs 450, respectively.

]]>KATHMANDU: Next time you’re planning a party, make Chivas XV a must-have feature of your evening.

The 15-year-old blended Scotch whisky is the latest addition to the Chivas portfolio, and is set to bring Scotch to moments of celebration around the world.

Continuing Chivas’ tradition for expert blending, Chivas XV brings together the best 15-year-old malt and grain whiskies before they’re selectively finished in the most prized Grande Champagne Cognac casks.

Grande Champagne famously produces the finest Cognacs in the world, renowned for their outstanding quality, the company said in a statement.

Sure to stand out in any crowd, Chivas XV is presented in the same iconic bottle shape that makes Chivas whiskies recognisable around the world: A clear bottle encased in a gold carton, making it the go-to gift for whisky lovers. Chivas XV is on sale exclusively in major airports worldwide and available in Nepal from December 1 at a price of Rs 10,200 for 100cl.

]]>BARA: A construction contractor has filed a complaint at Insurance Board against non-life insurer Sagarmatha Insurance accusing the latter of failing to pay insurance claim amount as per the contract between the two.

Gautam Construction Services, the company that bagged a construction contract of Nepal Electricity Authority laid charges against the insurance company for non-payment of Rs 2.9 million in insurance claim.

The contractor had paid a premium of Rs 53,000 to insure against the losses if any faced during construction of structures supporting towers in the national transmission grid at Piluwa-Parwanipur. Moreover, the insurance company had underwritten a policy worth Rs3.5 million with a clause to cover losses bore by the contractor during construction.

The project suffered heavy losses after floods at Dudhara River swept away the nearly finished structures. However, the insurance company had permitted the contractor to reconstruct the project assuring coverage of losses.

According to construction company Operator Rajendra Gautam, it has been eight months since the company reconstructed the structures and filed for payment of claim amount. However, the insurer is yet to release payment.

Gautam Construction filed a complaint at the Board after a surveyor from insurance company estimated a loss of Rs 2.9 million but the insurer only covered Rs 4,26000 and denied payment of the remaining sum.

Meanwhile, Head of Claim Department of Sagarmatha Insurance, Subas Dixit said that the company cannot cover losses of the amount demanded by Gautam Construction Services and will now await decision from the Insurance Board.

]]>556157Cooperatives’ role key to achieving SDGs: Stakeholdershttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/cooperatives-role-key-to-achieving-sdgs-stakeholders/
Fri, 14 Dec 2018 05:30:12 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556041Amid the country facing difficulty to integrate its development goals with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) due to lack of ample human and financial resources, promotion of cooperatives can be a major force for a country like Nepal in capitalising on the SDGs, as per stakeholders.

Amid the country facing difficulty to integrate its development goals with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) due to lack of ample human and financial resources, promotion of cooperatives can be a major force for a country like Nepal in capitalising on the SDGs, as per stakeholders.

As the cooperative sector is directly linked to various targets of SDGs including poverty reduction, gender equality, health, food security and nutrition, employment and women empowerment, among others, it can contribute to capitalising on the economic, social and environmental objectives of SDGs, they said.

“Achieving SDGs is directly linked to the country’s economic growth, which is possible through increased production, market expansion and increase in access to financial services. As cooperatives have direct linkage to people at grassroots level unlike banks, cooperatives should partner with local people and other groups to boost country’s production base,” said Gopi Nath Mainali, secretary at Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation.

In the context of Nepal where a majority of the population is engaged in the agriculture sector, cooperatives have a bigger role in enhancing the agriculture industry as the sector can play an important role in the realisation of the proposed SDGs, experts have opined. As a majority of the population here depends on agriculture for livelihood, there is high demand for agriculture resources like seeds and fertilisers and access to market. In such a context, agriculture cooperatives become a crucial means to ensure that the needs of small farmers are addressed, thus transforming the agriculture industry.

Though there are almost 34,000 cooperatives across the country with more than six million members and the sector has been ever growing, a majority of cooperatives are deposit and credit based while they are less focused on production and job creation. In a nutshell, cooperative sector has not been able to contribute to the country’s economy by a larger extent.

However, it is to note that the government has initiated different programmes lately to promote agriculture cooperatives and link the cooperative sector to agriculture production. Earlier this year, the government and United Nations Development Programme signed an agreement to implement the ‘Cooperative Market Development Programme (CMDP)’ which aims to establish and operationalise cooperative market chain of fruits and vegetables to increase farmers’ income and other livelihood opportunities.

Being implemented in Kavre, Lalitpur, Dhading, Makawanpur, Nuwakot and Chitwan in the first phase, the programme envisions identifying 72 pocket areas of vegetable farming in these districts and helping vegetable produce of these areas to reach the market through cooperatives.

“Collecting and supplying vegetables via cooperatives will ensure that farmers get a market for their products and reasonable price for their produce,” said Suman Manandhar, national project manager of CMDP, adding that promoting agriculture cooperatives will be crucial to end the practice of ‘middlemen’ in the agriculture industry.

]]>556041IMF revises up Nepal’s growth forecast to 6.5pchttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/imf-revises-up-nepals-growth-forecast-to-6-5pc/
Fri, 14 Dec 2018 05:15:11 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556056Owing to greater political stability and reliable supply of electricity in recent months, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised up Nepal’s economic growth to 6.5 per cent for the ongoing fiscal year.

Owing to greater political stability and reliable supply of electricity in recent months, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised up Nepal’s economic growth to 6.5 per cent for the ongoing fiscal year.

The World Economic Outlook published by IMF earlier had projected Nepal’s GDP growth to remain at five per cent in 2018-19, far below the government’s target to achieve eight per cent economic growth.

“Following a prolonged period of subdued growth, economic activities in Nepal have picked up in recent years. Supported by greater political stability and reliable supply of electricity, the growth is expected to reach 6.5 per cent in 2018-19, on expanding post-earthquake reconstruction activity, services and manufacturing,” reads the Article IV Consultation Report of IMF released today.

An IMF team led by Geert Almekinders had visited Nepal on December 2 to hold discussions for the 2018 Article IV consultation.

Though the improved outlook provides an opening to address deep-seated structural weaknesses and boost long-term growth, the IMF report has insisted on careful handling of the current economic expansion against the backdrop of substantial rise in fiscal deficit and sharp increase in Nepal’s current account deficit, which has led to the increasing outflow of foreign reserves.

Similarly, the IMF has also assessed that a measured tightening of policies is warranted — higher interest rates, tighter macro prudential policies and a smaller fiscal deficit than the currently budgeted would be more suited to current economic circumstances of Nepal to manage the fiscal and external sector pressure and promote a more durable economic expansion.

Likewise, the IMF has also suggested that the general government budget envelope must not expand unduly while the country is implementing fiscal federalism. Citing that the central government will need to shrink with substantial devolution of responsibilities and resources to the local and provincial governments, the report has welcomed the government’s efforts to reform the tax system and review options to consolidate the central government’s expenditure by forming the Public Expenditure Review Commission.

The IMF report has also suggested the government to control the rapid pace of expansion of credit growth. “While credit growth has helped spur growth over the past several years, high pace of expansion raises stability concerns,” states the report.

Applauding the government’s intention to maintain the 80 per cent limit on credit-to-core capital cum deposit (CCD) ratio, the IMF mission has also urged the government to resist pressures to make changes to the calculation of the CCD ratio to expand the room for credit growth.

]]>KATHMANDU: Sanima Bank has successfully concluded its 14th annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday. Under the leadership of Binaya Kumar Shrestha, chairman of the bank, the AGM has approved to provide 14 per cent cash dividend.

Similarly, from the public (Category B) two independent directors Bharat Kumar Pokharel and Mahesh Ghimire were elected at the meeting.

In the last fiscal year, Sanima was able to earn net profit of Rs 1.70 billion, which is an increase of 23.27 per cent as compared to the previous fiscal. It was able to collect deposits worth Rs 79.18 billion and its net loans and advances stood at Rs 69.24 billion along with total assets size of Rs 91.82 billion.

As of mid-July, Sanima’s non-performing loans stood at 0.03 per cent and its capital fund to RWA stood at 12.41 per cent.

Similarly, its net liquidity stood at 24.72 per cent and its credit deposit ratio (monthly average) stood at 78.78 per cent.

]]>556042Arrival of foreign tourists via air crosses 1m markhttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/arrival-of-foreign-tourists-via-air-crosses-1m-mark/
Fri, 14 Dec 2018 04:24:56 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=556026The inflow of foreign tourists (by air) has crossed the much awaited mark of one million annual arrivals within the first 11 months of 2018, as per the statistics unveiled by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) today.

The inflow of foreign tourists (by air) has crossed the much awaited mark of one million annual arrivals within the first 11 months of 2018, as per the statistics unveiled by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) today.

According to NTB, a total of 1,001,930 foreign tourists have visited Nepal via air till the end of November. This inflow of foreign tourists is an increment by 17 per cent compared to the number of foreigners visiting Nepal in the 11 months of 2017.

Furthermore, the figures do not include number of overland international visitors to Nepal in October and November. “Even if overland arrival figures of last year are assumed to be constant, overall growth in January-November period has been 23 per cent,” said NTB officials.

As per the NTB statistics, arrival of Indian tourists in January-November period was recorded at 260,124 while 134,362 Chinese tourists visited Nepal during the review period. Similarly, the arrival of European tourists has also surged in the first 11 months of 2018. The total European arrivals in January-November period in 2018 reached 224,206, as per NTB.

Likewise, total number of visitors from the United States in January-November period this year stood at 82,870.

Deepak Raj Joshi, chief executive officer of NTB, mentioned that the image of Nepal as one of the most preferred tourist destinations has been reinforced and this has been reflected in the extraordinary growth in visitor arrivals to Nepal.

“This can also be attributed to the concerted efforts of the government, NTB, private sector and media towards promotion of overall tourism sector in the international tourism arena,” said Joshi, adding that this is the moment to commemorate the milestone in the tourism history of Nepal as it also heralds the potential of tourism sector of Nepal which can be further realised through upcoming national tourism campaign of Visit Nepal Tourism Year 2020.

]]>556026Nepal Telecom’s plan to expand 4G service still ‘undecided’https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/nepal-telecoms-plan-to-expand-4g-service-still-undecided/
Thu, 13 Dec 2018 05:27:03 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=555883Though the government had been citing that the delay in the expansion of Nepal Telecom (NT)’s 4G service was due to the lingering probe on the expansion of the service by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the government has not been able to expedite the project even though the anti-graft body has already given a clean chit on the issue.

Though the government had been citing that the delay in the expansion of Nepal Telecom (NT)’s 4G service was due to the lingering probe on the expansion of the service by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the government has not been able to expedite the project even though the anti-graft body has already given a clean chit on the issue.

The CIAA had suspected anomalies in the tender process and had launched an investigation.

Concluding the almost year-long probe on NT’s 4G equipment procurement process, the CIAA in the first week of October had directed the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MoCIT), NT’s parent ministry, to take necessary legal decisions to expedite the rollout plan of 4G. However, the project is yet to move ahead as projected earlier.

Prior to the CIAA probe into the issue, Nepal Telecom had invited bids from international companies to expand 4G service across the country and two separate tender notices for the procurement of base transceiver stations and the core network to facilitate 4G transmission had been published. Though different international firms had submitted bids the process was stalled due to the CIAA probe.

“There have been no developments in the 4G expansion plan as of today. However, the project will go ahead as per existing laws guiding NT and the direction and decision of MoCIT,” informed Prativa Baidhya, spokesperson for Nepal Telecom.

Meanwhile, the 4G expansion plan of NT has also been hit because of the government’s inability to fill the vacant top post of the state-owned telecom company. The managing director’s post has been lying vacant since the government sacked Kamini Rajbhandari citing her incompetence.

However, officials at MoCIT have said that the government will take necessary steps to expand 4G service of NT aggressively based on the direction of CIAA. “NT’s 4G expansion will gain momentum within the next few weeks,” informed an official at MoCIT.

Nepal Telecom was the first telecom company to launch 4G service in Nepal in 2017. However, Ncell, a private telecom company, which had launched 4G almost five months later, has expanded the service to more than two dozen cities across the country while 4G service of NT has been limited to Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara.

There are around 1.86 million 4G subscribers in Nepal. Of these, 1.19 million are using Ncell’s service, 621,023 have subscribed to NT’s service and 43,887 are using Smart Telecom’s service.

The Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament has formed a sub-committee to probe possible anomalies in Nepal Airlines’ wide-body aircraft procurement process.

The committee’s decision to form the probe panel is backed by the report of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office, which states that Nepal Airlines Corporation did not ‘properly follow’ the Public Procurement Act while purchasing the two wide-body planes.

The seven-member probe panel has lawmaker Rajendra KC as the coordinator. “The sub-committee will look into every aspect of the wide-body aircraft procurement deal and submit its report to the full committee within 15 days,” PAC Chairman Bharat Kumar Shah told THT, adding that PAC will take necessary decisions based on the findings of the report.

As the PPMO and the Office of the Auditor General have already mentioned that NAC has exploited loopholes in the Public Procurement Act and the corporation’s bylaws while acquiring the wide-body aircraft, PAC has mandated the sub-committee to investigate the issue and prepare the report on the basis of the findings of PPMO and OAG.

The annual audit report of OAG has revealed irregularities amounting to a staggering Rs 6 billion in the wide-body aircraft purchase deal. Addressing the PAC meeting, Auditor General Tankamani Sharma said NAC had used an agent to purchase the planes instead of seeking bids from aircraft manufacturing companies as envisioned in the law.

The PPMO recently outlined a number of faults in the concerned aircraft purchase deal. Among other faults, the PPMO’s report mentions that NAC purchased the aircraft without conforming to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act. Its report states that NAC did not mention the ‘terms and conditions’ of the purchase agreement in the bidding notice and also failed to mention the parameters to analyse the bid documents as sought by the law.

A sub-panel of the Parliamentary International Relations Committee has already started probing the controversial procurement, ownership and operation of two wide-body aircraft purchased by NAC.

The first wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft was added to NAC’s fleet on June 28, while the corporation acquired the second long-haul aircraft on July 26. However, these long-haul aircraft have become ‘white elephants’ for NAC due to the corporation’s failure to operate them in a full-fledged manner.

]]>555879NAC proposes civil servants to use its servicehttps://thehimalayantimes.com/business/nepal-airlines-corporation-proposes-civil-servants-to-use-its-service/
Wed, 12 Dec 2018 04:35:07 +0000http://thehimalayantimes.com/?p=555706The state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has urged the government to introduce a mandatory provision for civil servants to travel abroad for official purposes via Nepal Airlines where its flights are available.

FILE: The second wide-body Airbus aircraft (A330-200) of Nepal Airlines Corporation being welcomed at Tribhuvan International Airport, in Kathmandu, on Thursday, July 26, 2018. Photo: RSS

Kathmandu, December 11

The state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has urged the government to introduce a mandatory provision for civil servants to travel abroad for official purposes via Nepal Airlines where its flights are available.

The national flag carrier at present has scheduled flights to eight destinations in six nations, namely New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Doha and Dubai from Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Kathmandu. As thousands of civil servants travel to these destinations every year, a legal provision that makes it compulsory for civil servants to travel abroad via Nepal Airlines will prove crucial for NAC to expand its market, said Madan Kharel, executive chairman of NAC.

“We have repeatedly urged the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to introduce such a provision. It will not only ensure that Nepal Airlines will fly with good seat occupancy in the aforementioned destinations but will also help NAC financially and increase its market share in the international flight segment,” mentioned Kharel.

As NAC today is reeling under immense financial pressure following its inability to operate its two brand new wide-body aircraft in a full-fledged manner, the corporation is planning different ways to increase Nepal Airlines’ business and make it a financially sustained entity.

Though addition of the two wide-body aircraft to NAC’s fleet was expected to enhance the market and business of the national carrier, NAC today is obliged to operate these aircraft at a loss. Due to lack of effective planning, NAC has not been able to fly its wide-body planes to long-haul destinations for which these aircraft are meant and has been flying to short destinations.

Even though Nepal has signed Air Services Agreement (ASA) with 39 nations, Nepal Airlines has been able to fly only to six of these countries. However, Kharel informed that NAC will expand its fleet in the coming days and start flying to more international destinations.

Meanwhile, he claimed that NAC will improve its position gradually. “We are reviewing our business plan. The new business plan will set various targets regarding flight operation of Nepal Airlines and other business targets,” informed Kharel.

Similarly, Kharel also informed that Nepal Airlines will start flying to Japan from February and to China from March next year. NAC has sought aircraft operation permits from the aviation authorities of Japan and China and both the Japanese and Chinese authorities are positive towards giving flight permits to Nepal Airlines in their nations, as per him.